Why did Vidura in the Mahabharata not join the Pandavas?
Why did Vidura in the Mahabharata not join the Pandavas when he was driven away by Duryodhana? That's because in the Mahabharata, the close relative [...]
1 Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 Poetic rendition
Chapter 1 How, O how, can I fight and kill Those whose pleasure is my heart's will? A kingdom is worth no more than mere [...]
What’s wrong with worrying about the world’s problems?
Some people think that they need to worry about things that are going wrong in this part of the world and that part of the [...]
Three levels of empowerment
To have options is empowering; To have the intelligence to know which options are good for us is even more empowering; And to have the [...]
Gratitude demanded is gratitude diminished
Many virtues, like gratitude, are difficult to cultivate and easy to lose. One counterintuitive way we may lose gratitude is by our overzealousness in insisting [...]
Gita 17.16 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 17.16 manaḥ-prasādaḥ saumyatvaṁ maunam [...]
What is Bhagavad-gita? – 3
The Bhagavad-gita is quintessentially a book of dharma, wherein the word means primarily ‘the right thing to do.’ Indeed, Arjuna’s seminal question (02.07) that drives [...]
What is Bhagavad-gita? — 1
Literally, the word Bhagavad-gita means the song (gita) of God (Bhagavan, changed to Bhagavat as an adjective). It is book-length wisdom about life and living [...]
Gita 02.27 explained
BG 2.27 jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur dhruvam janma mritasya ca tasmad apariharye 'rthe na tvam socitum arhasi SYNONYMS jatasya -- of one who has [...]
Bhagavad-gita Chapter 9 summary — part 2
[When you are the overseer of material nature, why doesn’t everyone understand your divine position?] Because some people are deluded; they despise and deride me [...]
Bhagavad-gita Chapter 7 summary — part 1
[For attaining the level of the highest yogis (06.47), is there an alternative, easier way?] Hear, Arjuna, the knowledge that will free you from doubt [...]
Chapter 5 summary — part 2
(This article resumes the Gita summary series that had been started a few months ago. You can read the previous article here) To stay untouched [...]
Gita 02.69 explained
BG 2.69 ya nisa sarva-bhutanam tasyam jagarti samyami yasyam jagrati bhutani sa nisa pasyato muneh SYNONYMS ya -- what; nisa -- is night; sarva [...]
Channeling the need to be different (02.69 Gita analyzed 7 — Human level)
This Bhagavad-gita verse conveys that spiritual seekers need the courage to be different from the world. While being different requires fearlessness, it can also induce [...]
Be ready to stand apart from the world (Gita 02.69 analyzed 2 – Chapter level)
The Bhagavad-gita’s second chapter is essentially Krishna’s summary answer to Arjuna’s central question in the Gita (02.07): what is dharma, the right thing to do? [...]
Why the mind is a terrible leader
Suppose we had a colleague with a take-charge attitude who pushed us into going along with their ideas. If they didn’t really know what they [...]
Gita 18.62 explained
Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan Bg 18.62 In 18.58 Krishna [...]
Are we asking God the wrong question?
Suppose we find ourselves impeded, even imprisoned, by some conditioning — say, our mind keeps becoming jealous or angry, despite our best efforts to fight [...]
Can any question be a bad question?
The questioning spirit is good; it shows our eagerness to learn. Still, that doesn’t mean all questions are automatically good. Why not? Some questions are [...]
Gita 02.17 explained
2.11-2.30: counters first argument – compassion So Krishna is building up a flow of thought over here, and He is saying that there is [...]
Gita 02.13 explained
2.11-2.30: counters first argument – compassion – by Jnana So after discussing the eternality of the individuals in the next verse, Sri Krishna will [...]